Erdogan: Russian-Turkish relations becoming stronger

By  Trend

Russian-Turkish relations are becoming stronger, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters before his visit to Moscow, Trend reports referring to the Turkish media.

According to Erdogan, a strengthening of relations in all fields is currently being observed between the two countries.

The president noted that regional issues will be discussed during the meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, including the situation in Syria and the supply of Russian S-400 air defense missile systems.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Russia on April 8, during which a number of economic and political issues will be discussed.

Initial reports of negotiations between Russia and Turkey on the supply of S-400 surfaced in November 2016. The signing of a contract was confirmed by the Russian side on September 12, 2017. Turkish National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said that the S-400 air defense systems will be deployed from October 2019. The supply of the S-400 air defense systems to Ankara cost $2.5 billion, head of the Rostec state corporation Sergey Chemezov said in December 2017. Turkey is the first country, a NATO member, which will receive the S-400 air defense systems from Russia.